Item 1967/1 - Three letters from Edgar Winstanley

3 items, paper

Three letters from Edgar Winstanley:
(a) manuscript, one folio (recto & verso), dated 25 January 1967, commenting on a paper of IS that presented both sides of the argument [on the coinage of Henry VII?] but ultimately came down on neither. He mentions "Blunt's bombshell" about forgeries in the Hunterian collection and how it "brings the genuineness of the sovereign groat into question". EJW then offers to assist in following this up by calculating the number of obverse dies among his coins and those at the BM.
(b) manuscript, one folio (recto & verso), dated 21 February 1967, acknowledging receipt of IS's letter and typescript [about the coinage of Richard III?]. He returns to the subject of the Hunterian coins, mentioning that Blunt and Dolley had noted one forgery "diabolically clever". In view of the fact that the Hunterian collection "has been preserved untouched or added to since William Hunter formed it, largely by purchase", he wonders whether other coins such as the portcullis groats in the BM may also come under suspicion.
(c) manuscript, one folio (recto & verso), dated 1 March 1967, stating that he has sent IS's typescript and letter to Potter, asking him to return it back to him, and hoping that he can come up with something worthwhile to say about it by then. He says that he is unable to much help in the matter of Richard III dies because he was more concerned with little variations in the legends. The is further discussion of the Hunterian coins in Glasgow and "a forgery of such skillful workmanship" among them, discovered by Blunt and Dolley. Sir William Hunter is thought to have acquired the coins during the decade before his death in 1783, when a very skillful forger was operating. EJW concludes by again raising the question about the authenticity of the portcullis groats of Henry VII in the BM.